Tritons Lose at Stanford and PacificDespite 14 kills from Johl Awerkamp and Carl Eberts, UCSD was defeated in four sets by second-ranked Stanford last Friday at Maples Pavilion. Scores were 25-21, 25-15, 22-25 and 25-19. The Tritons out-blocked the Cardinal 10 to 7.5, but couldn't keep pace with their opponents' strong hitting. Stanford recorded 62 kills with 16 errors in 113 attack attempts, good for a .407 hitting percentage. UCSD hit .270 with 50 kills and 20 errors in 111 swings. Outside hitter Vaun Lennon tallied 13 kills and hit .348 (13-5-23), also contributing nine digs and two blocks. UCSD's middles accounted for nine blocks as Fred Stahl had five and Sebastian Brady had four. The previous time the Tritons traveled to Maples Pavilion (Feb. 11, 2011) they upset the Cardinal in a sweep, the team's first ever win on that floor. The victory snapped Stanford's 18-match home win streak.

Awerkamp once again led UCSD in kills but the Tritons ran into a hot Pacific squad last Saturday night and fell in straight sets at the Alex G. Spanos Center. Scores went 25-17, 27-25 and 25-16. Pacific led in almost every statistical category, most notably in attack percentage (.395 to .193) and blocks (12 to 4.5). The Tigers had five service aces and 11 errors while the Tritons did not collect any aces but had 10 miscues at the line. UCSD did hold a slight 25-24 advantage in digs. Awerkamp amassed 10 kills to lead the Tritons in that department for the fourth consecutive match. Stahl hit .462 with seven kills while Lennon totaled eight kills but also had eight attack errors.

UCLA NotesTop-ranked UCLA has won its last five matches and has lost only twice this season - once against UC Irvine at UC Santa Barbara's tournament and once at Long Beach State. In the MPSF, Thomas Amberg and Weston Dunlap are first and second in hitting percentage with Amberg hitting .504 and Dunlap right behind him at .487. The Bruins also have four of the top 15 players in blocks per set, with Amberg at No. 2 (1.62) and Dunlap (1.05), Nick Vogel (1.04) and Kyle Caldwell (0.97) ninth, 10th and 15th. Libero Evan Mottram is seventh in the MPSF in digs per set with 2.15 while Gonzalo Quiroga is first in service aces per set at 0.50. Finally, UCLA as a team is leading the MPSF by holding opponents to a .190 attack percentage and ranks second in attack percentage (.355). The Bruins are third in the conference in kills per set at 13.51 and blocking average at 3.21. UCSD has won three of the last four meetings against UCLA, including a sweep in Los Angeles on Apr. 1, 2011. The Tritons won the season series in 2010.

UC Santa Barbara NotesUCSB has lost its last three matches, most recently suffering a 3-0 defeat at home against No. 2 UC Irvine Wednesday. Three of the team's last four matches have gone to five sets, including a win over BYU in Provo on Feb. 25. Dylan Davis had 14 blocks against Cal State Northridge on Feb. 29, the most by any MPSF player since the 2010 season. In the league, Chad Kingi ranks fourth in digs (2.37/set), Davis is seventh in blocks (1.10/set) and Miles Evans ranks eighth in kills (3.60/set), ninth in digs (1.89/set) and 10th in points (4.07/set). As a team, the Gauchos are sixth in opponent hitting percentage (.273), eighth in aces (0.86/set) and ninth in assists (11.27/set) and blocks (2.21/set). UCSB played in the national championship match last season, falling in five sets to Ohio State. UCSD has lost the last four meetings against UCSB with its last victory coming on Jan. 8, 2010 in a non-conference match at the Gaucho's annual early season tournament.

In the MPSFAs a team, UCSD ranks fourth in digs (8.46/set) and sixth in aces (0.97/set). Individually, Mike Brunsting is ninth in aces (0.28/set) and Chase Frishman is 11th in digs (1.80/set).

Almost Unheard OfThe Tritons posted no service aces at Pacific on Mar. 3, just the second time that has happened all season. The first time was all the way back on Jan. 15 at Grand Canyon. Ranked sixth in the MPSF, UCSD is averaging 0.97 per set and has put down at least four aces in 11 matches. Carl Eberts and Mike Brunsting each have 16 aces to lead the team.

Making Kerouac ProudThe Tritons are currently in the midst of a six-match road swing, their longest of the season. The stretch began at Stanford on Mar. 2 and UCSD won't play at RIMAC again until hosting UCLA on Mar. 30 and UC Santa Barbara on Mar. 31.

UCSD Teams Up With Big Brothers Big Sisters AgainIn conjunction with Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County, the UCSD men's volleyball team held a free clinic at RIMAC Arena on Feb. 18. It was the fourth consecutive year that the event was held. The clinic was part of BBBS' Sports Bigs program. For more information, please visit http://bit.ly/xCVJPr.

Hawaii Three-OOn Jan. 6, UCSD upset No. 11 Hawaii in straight sets for its first ever victory over the Warriors in Honolulu. It was also the first time in program history that the Tritons swept the Warriors. Scores were 25-21, 25-21 and 25-22 at the Stan Sheriff Center as Carl Eberts led UCSD with 14 kills, three aces, three digs and five blocks. He hit .478 and totaled a match-high 19.5 points. Greg Smith had a career-high seven blocks.